I Would Fall
by Dianaameade
Summary: Jace Herondale, one of the city's best detectives, a perfectionist, and the only soul around who sees the red head on the roof. Standing on the brink, can he discover what she is hiding, can he mend what seems to be so broken? T for abuse and language.
1. Chapter 1

Jace Herondale was a hard worker. Some- well, all- of his colleagues would say he worked too hard, but that wasn't possible; everything had to be done correctly to him. Everything had its place and should be in its place- that is why he decided at the age of 17 he would become a police officer, and why he was promoted through the ranks to detective in eight short years- he was a perfectionist and knew it, it was the way he had been raised and he found comfort in keeping order.

This is why, on his way into his modest apartment, he was the only one in the street to notice the out of the ordinary situation occurring on the rooftop.

Standing at the very edge of the concrete roof, toes barely touching the ledge, was a girl. The seven o clock sun was bright enough for him to make out her slim stature and unwavering stance, and immediately he knew. She was going to jump.

Racing forward into the building he ran straight for the stairs, knowing the ancient elevators would never reach the roof in time. Taking the steps two at a time, he continued his pace, practice from years of chasing criminals kicking in as he reached the top of the five story building, legs searing and muscles aching, but with his determination still burning.

Slowly, as not to startle the woman, he opened the door to the roof. He breathed in a deep breath, steadily through his nose, calming his pulse and keeping quiet.

Standing roughly 30 metres away from him was the girl. He could see now that her hair was a blazing red, like a swirl of fire fluttering in the wind. He began to walk towards her, softly so as not to alert her. Jace continued to walk, golden eyes glinting as he formed a plan in his mind, the only thought in his head being to get her down and keep her safe; this was the most obvious thing he could do. As he got closer he began to hear her sobs, muffled and dry, as if she had been going at it for hours. He felt the urge to wrap himself around her, and every one of her quaking breaths felt like a twist in his gut.

He was up close now; the sobbing continued and he could almost make out words from her murmuring. Standing still for a moment, Jace contemplated his next move, then realise he had no time for a master plan, and instead flung himself at her.

He sprinted through the remaining distance and grabbed the woman around her waist, hearing her gasp as he did so. He held on tight and lifted her off, spinning them both around and pulling her close to his body as he fell downwards, cushioning the fall then rolling over so that her body was pressed under his.

"Stop!" She gasped, breathing in air and struggling beneath his iron grip. "Let me go!" She wriggled more, opening her eyes wide and glancing frantically around the empty roof; her emerald irises nearly caught him off guard enough to loosen up, however he caught himself when he saw the tear tracks glistening down her cheeks.

"No," he whispered down, breath tickling her ear, "I'm not leaving you, stop struggling and I will let you up." She coughed at this, turning to stare at him, then going still. Not yet satisfied that she wouldn't run away from him, he held onto her arms and rolled over, pulling her up along with him.

Staring at Jace's hand on her arm, her large eyes widened impossibly more.

"Who are you?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: I'm not calling you a liar.

Hours seemed to pass as he stared at her, not seeming to comprehend what he was saying as the words flowed from her mouth, rough from her tears.

"Well," she began again, volume increasing "who are-"

"Why were you going to jump?" Jace interrupted, blazing eyes searching her own, fierce waves of curiosity and protectiveness rolling off of him. The redhead looked down, unable to meet his gaze as he continued to stare down. "You may as well tell me the truth, because I'm not letting go, nor am I telling you anything until you answer me."

The girl flinched slightly at his tone, but stood up straighter.

"I wasn't." She replied, determined to convince him. "I didn't know what I was doing…"

He stared at her sceptically, not believing a word she was saying; her unease was obvious though, and he began to feel bad and loosened his grip.

"Well, my name is Jace Herondale, and as doubtful as you sound, Its none of my business so I'll take your word for it." He finally let go of her and reached his hand out for her to shake. Taking his large, calloused fingers in her own soft ones, she shook lightly.

"Clary Fray. I'm sorry for causing you any trouble, but I was honestly just… watching the world go by." She smiled slightly, and despite the now darkened sky, Jace could tell it was fake.

"Mmhm, well, at least let me walk you home, do you live near here?" He offered, starting back toward the roof door, Clary trailing behind him slowly, hesitantly.

"I live here, second floor." She replied timidly, looking down… nervously? Then Jace realised what she had said.

"Wait, you live here? On the second floor? I have lived here for almost three years and never seen you, how is that possible, did you just move in?" Words tumbled from his mouth as curiosity got the better of him.

"I have been here for two years; I live with my… boyfriend, Sebastian Verlac. If you've met him…" Boyfriend. Verlac. Jace's fists clenched. He did know Verlac, and his father, both of whom were corrupt lawyers, rich as hell and not sort of guys he would want Clary anywhere near.

Wait, what?

Ignoring his previous train of thought, Jace realised they had reached the third floor door and a pool of yellow light fell around them. For the first time he could see what she looked like, and she was beautiful; he could tell why a man like Sebastian would want her.

She was short and slim, only just reaching his shoulders. Her face was the shape of a heart, soft pale skin covering her body making her large, captivating green eyes stand out. Soft brown freckles were scattered across her cheeks like stars, and they matched the grey paint splatters on her plain black dress that reached halfway down her body. Her hair was eye catching crimson, not orange, but the colour that you saw just as the sun was about to set on summer nights. She was an enigma, and the kind of girl Jace knew he could never be worthy of- the kind of girl who made him want to be worthy.

How cliché.

Once again ignoring his inner monologue, he spoke.

"Can you make it down on your own?" He queried, attempting to pass off concern as decency. For the first time, Clary looked up at him with a spark in her eyes.

"Of course I can, I do it every day after all." She replied stubbornly.

Not after nearly killing yourself, Jace thought grimly to himself.

"Alright then. Pleasant to meet you Miss Fray, and of course it was a pleasure to meet me." He smirked cockily, deciding to lighten the tension thickening in the air.

She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Asshat." She muttered under her breath. Fiery.

"Of course it was. Thank you for… whatever… Goodbye, Jace." She smiled her tiny smile again before turning away and continuing her walk down the steps, light footfalls echoing in the emptiness.

Jace stood there, slightly shell-shocked from his experience. The girl was certainly a work of mystery, first a bird on a roof, then a lion in the hallway- yet the thing bothering Jace the most was the disturbing, yet deafeningly obvious, faint violet marks that marred her otherwise perfect skin.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Sweet Nothing

Clary Fray had felt fear before. In fact most, of her life was lived in fear, so as she walked down the stairs- away from the golden man- she felt the familiar feeling of dread settle around her.

It was late now, and she could feel blood rushing to her ears as she approached her room on the second floor. Sebastian wouldn't be happy and she knew it, it was dark outside and he would be home, most likely sitting upright on the couch, a glass of fine wine by his side as he fumed over why his girlfriend wasn't home. He would be angry.

She dragged her hand through her scarlet curls as she contemplated her next move. She was nearly at her door; stabbing pains were curling in her gut. What would come next? Should she go in? She could stay at a hotel, wait until tomorrow, and maybe come back whilst he is sleeping? But Clary knew he could find her, and any attempt at avoiding him would backfire severely, so sucking in a breath she pushed her way into the apartment.

There he sat.

Jet black hair styled professionally, a loosened tie hung on his pristine shirt and his jacket was slung on the kitchen table. Before even speaking, she could tell he was raging inside. Sebastian was the one of the scariest people she had ever met, and she wished she could escape. His face was hard and sculpted, lips set in a thin hard line over what she knew was a set of deceivingly dazzling white teeth. He was beautiful- so goddamn angelic; he was a monster.

Closing the door, Clary walked towards him.

"Clarissa." She flinched as he hissed at her. "Where were you? Do you know how long I have been waiting here?" His black eyes turned to look at her, burning her with ice.

"Well Clarissa! Answer me you pathetic girl- where were you!" His voice rose as he stood up, approaching her fast. Clary backed up, feeling her back hit the door as he pushed her forcefully against it. Gasping, she shut her eyes and turned her head away.

"Nowhere, I was nowhere! I'm sorry Seb, I was just, out for a walk…" She trailed off, voice impossibly quiet.

"Liar. You whore, you were out with that rat face, weren't you, cheating bitch! What have I told you about seeing him? Don't! That's what I told you. Why don't you listen to me? I give up everything to be here with you, an expensive house, a life of luxury, anything I ever wanted! I gave it up so I could 'live in a nice, modest place' here with you! And this is how you repay me?!" He mimicked her voice, talking at her like she was nothing, spitting on her face and viciously shoving her against the wall.

"I wasn't with Simon! I haven't seen him in… years!" She exclaimed, gasping as he shoved her again. He slapped her, hard enough to have her head crack against the wall.

"I'll make sure you don't see him, I'll make sure you do what I say." And with that, Sebastian flung her around against the floor. Clary whimpered, landing hard on her back and pushing against the floor, practically clawing against the floor to get away from the beast. But it was no use. Grabbing hold of her leg, he pulled hard making her collapse against the floor, proceeding then to land two heavy kicks to her stomach and ribs. She attempted to curl in on herself, mind numbing pain shooting through her body.

"Stop Seb! Please, please, please let me go" She sobbed, breathing hard and gulping for air through her damaged ribs. He continued to ignore her pleas and straddled her, pinning her beneath him and pulling her arms above her head, leaning down to speak into her ear.

"You see what happens when you disobey me? You deserve this, you worthless piece of trash." She whimpered as he trailed a hand down her side, harsh fingers pressing into her. "Little orphan Annie, you think you're better than me? You would be nothing without me. Nothing. Look at me!" Clary turned her head to look at him, her dull green eyes staring into his own black ones. The whites of his eyes were watery and red from drink, and his gaze made his words even more piercing. She was worthless; she would mean nothing without him. No matter what she did, where she went, she had no one but him. A person flashed in her mind, gold hair and a cocky smile, but her head was pounding too much to match a name and a face.

She was going to end it today. She had it all planned; jump off the roof and escape Sebastian, and every other nasty memory that suffocated her, but off course the world had other plans, she wasn't allowed to escape. She had to stay here and endure the punishment for being born.

Eyes sagging with her nerves, she stopped struggling, lying still, accepting the painful burn that came from Sebastian's grip.

"Good girl," he murmured, and then stood, kicking her once again so that she curled into the foetal position. "I'm going out now. You probably won't see me until next week; I can't stand to look at you. Clean yourself up, go to work, and don't talk to anyone." With a final glare to make sure she had understood, he turned and left, slamming the door and leaving Clary with a painful silence.

Lying still for what seemed like hours, she let the pain wash over her, ignoring everything around. It had been like this for a long time; Sebastian would be angry, at anything, at everything and Clary- caught in the crossfire- would be on the receiving end of the anger.

Finally, after realising she couldn't stay down forever, Clary rose and walked to the bathroom, shedding her clothes on the way. Staring at the full length mirror on the wall, she examined her battered body. Her torso was alarmingly red; shoulders covered in small fingershaped marks. Her wrists were raw from struggling and her lip was split, but overall it wasn't the worst she had ever received.

Stepping into the shower she turned on full heat, the scorching water relentless as it cleared away the ashamed feeling that clung to her body like tar. She thought over what Sebastian had said- all the insults merging into one as she sobbed into her fingers, shuddering into her breaths. After twenty minutes, she finally stopped, cries subsided and her breathing calmed. Clambering out of the shower she dried herself, avoiding looking in the mirror. She dried herself and threw on some pyjamas before climbing into bed, rolling herself into a ball, clutching her legs as if she were trying to hold all the broken pieces of herself together. He would be gone for a week; that was a relief, but what would happen when that week ended.

Rolling over she fell into a dreamless sleep, wishing that the man on the roof had let her fall.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Apologies for uploading this chapter missing the first line *facepalm*. Forgive me, enjoy :)**

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: My Boy Builds Coffins<p>

Jace woke with a start, feeling uncomfortable and unsatisfied. Rising from his bed, he headed to the bathroom- attempting to shake the unidentifiable feeling of unease that hung around him as he climbed into the shower. He scrubbed at his body, the dial of the shower exactly halfway between hot and cold, and examined his bathroom. His walls were white tile, matching the white walls of his bedroom, living room and kitchen; despite this entire organisation, his head still felt a mess. He couldn't put his finger on what had caused his sleepless night, what was causing him to feel… guilty?

Guilty?

Clary! The girl he had met yesterday, or should he say, saved yesterday. Rubbing soap from his eyes he breathed heavily as he remembered the redhead, the fiery, broken, messed up redhead that had tried to jump off a roof then walked away from him, as if there were other things she should be concerned about.

And there were. The final cobwebs blew from his head as he remembered the purple marks on her skin. They were faint- anyone other than Jace would probably not have noticed them- however, to him, they were alarmingly obvious. Why had he let her walk away! She could be in the clutches of an abusive father right now, or a ruthless slave trade!

Then another cog turned.

It wasn't an abusive father. It wasn't a slave trade. It was him: Sebastian Verlac. Unconsciously, Jace hissed through his teeth. He had had exactly three encounters with that man: the first time they ever met was when Sebastian was moving in. The black headed man had been walking around the complex, knocking on doors trying to find the supervisor; by the time he had reached Jace's door he was in a foul mood, and managed to insult Jace's intelligence and blow up his own ego in the same sentence. Jace had not been impressed.

The second time was down at the station; Jace had been interrogating a rather well known CEO on the grounds of sexual harassment charges- Sebastian had flown through the doors, jet black eyes harsh as he snapped at the man to remain quiet whilst simultaneously throwing a pile of documents at Jace's partner Jordan Kyle; this time neither of them had been impressed. The man had gone free and both Jace and Kyle had been cautioned by the DA's assistant for antagonising Verlac.

The final time was recent and now made Jace the angriest out of all the encounters considering the fact it meant that Verlac had been cheating on Clary. He was at a popular nightclub, Pandemonium, with his adopted siblings Alec and Isabelle when he saw Sebastian exiting the club, a sleazy looking blonde wrapped up in his arms. It had made him feel sick and still made him sick now.

Climbing out of the shower and dressing for work, Jace prepared his bag then walked out of his apartment, locking the door behind him. He was part the way down the stairs when he was overwhelmed by curiosity; he couldn't. But he did- stopping at the door to the second floor; Jace pushed his way through and walked down the hallway, heading towards the elevators.

He walked slowly- he wasn't sure why. He didn't know which apartment was hers, but he wanted to. He felt drawn to this redheaded girl, in every sense possible, and craved to find out more about her. Unfortunately for him, the entire floor seemed to be silent, so he made his way- slightly deflated- to the elevator.

Jace arrived at work exactly on time- as per usual- and held two coffees in his hand. He set one unbearably creamy latte onto his partner Jordan's desk, before moving to sit opposite at his own, drinking his hot black coffee, burning his tongue.

"Morning Kyle," Jace said, opening his laptop to check his e-mails. "Anything exciting going on?"

"Well, if you count the same pigeon turning up outside my apartment every day exciting, then yes; apart from that everything is painfully normal." Jordan grinned, glancing over his laptop to look at Jace. He smirked back; glad to be around his friend, however he couldn't help but wish he had a case to distract him from a certain flame haired beauty.

Exactly five minutes passed before his wish came true.

"Kyle, Herondale, get your asses in here!" Jace and Jordan looked up startled as they heard the chief, Lucian Graymark, call for them. Jumping up, they both moved toward his office, bumping shoulders and laughing as they walked in.

"Alright boys, you're needed down at the Public Gallery, all I've heard from the call is that there has been a theft and suspicious activity, if you could head down straight away and collect some witness accounts, you can finish any paperwork at home. Off you go." Luke finished, going back to his filing. The man was a marshmallow; he was like a father to half the people in the precinct, and although he was probably the nicest guy you would ever meet, he did everything in his power to keep the law in place.

While internally fist pumping over the paperwork situation, both Jace and Jordan left the building, coats in hand as they climbed into their shared car, heading for the gallery.

"What would anyone want with a painting from that place?" Jordan asked, rubbing his hands to warm up from the crisp air. "I mean, I get that there are some great pieces in there, but from the one time Maia and I went there, the highest a painting ever sold for was two hundred dollars, not really worth the hassle of theft…" he trailed off as Jace turned a corner.

"I guess it's not worth that much. Luke said there had been suspicious activity though, maybe that's what we'll have to focus on." Pulling into the gallery's car park, they got out of the car and approached the doors. No-one was around in the front office, however all lights were on so they continued further in, hearing a dull buzz of noise from inside room toward the back.

"Stop right there!" A commanding feminine voice echoed, directed toward Jace and Jordan. They both spun round, hands on badges, to be faced with a middle aged woman, face etched with determined features. "Who are you and what are you doing in here." She spoke again, slightly scaring them. Jace however recovered quickly, and moved forwards to show her his badge.

"Sorry to startle you ma'am, I'm Detective Herondale, this is my partner, Detective Kyle, and we're here in regards to a theft?" Jace breathed out as the woman's features relaxed and she leaned forward to shake their hands, smiling slightly, however then continuing to talk in a slightly more urgent tone.

"Thank goodness you are here! Come right this way and I will show you to the scene. My name is Jia, Jia Penhallow, and I am the curator here at the gallery." She showed them into a wide room filled with bright paintings and led them to the very last antechamber, where a large white pedestal with a small golden stand sat, completely empty, in the middle of the space. "Only one piece has been stolen," She continued "However it was a very special piece, one of our finest, and Miss Fray is extremely upset by this entire situation."

Jace's attention perked up immediately at the name; Miss Fray- Clary Fray.

"Do you have any CCTV footage we can analyse?" Jordan questioned, looking around the room as Jace tried not to over excite himself.

"Yes." Jia replied, wringing her hands together. "However, I feel as if it will be no use to you; it has been tampered with, somehow. It stopped recording at midnight, and began again at eight when I came in with Miss Fray to open up." Jordan began to scribble in a notepad, continuing to ask the curator questions.

"Would it be alright if I spoke to Miss Fray?" Jace blurted out, impatient to see the girl again. Jia looked up, and then nodded, pointing out of the door.

"Out of this door, then two to the right and you will find her in the staff room. She's still slightly upset her work is gone, however I haven't talked to her yet." She replied. Jace nodded in thanks, then set off towards Clary, following the instructions he'd been given; he ended up in front of a door decorated creatively in tribal designs labelled "PARTY ROOM- STAFF ONLY". Chuckling to himself, he pushed open the door- only to be met with the person he was most anxious to see, back to him and sniffling onto her hand.

"Miss Fray?" Jace said, as gently as possible, trying to keep his voice from shaking with anticipation. She jumped slightly at his voice, and then turned to face him.

Her beauty startled him, and he stared at her face, memorizing it so that he never forgot, then composed himself.

"Jace?" She replied, shock modelling her voice. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled, before smirking and replying. "I'm actually a Detective, here to save the day."

Clary rolled her eyes, however she blushed slightly; he was pretty damn attractive. "Well then, I guess it's nice to see you, what can I do to help, do you know how to catch the guy?" Her previous look of worry returned to her face, and she pulled her lip into her mouth and crumpling the piece of paper in her hand harder.

Jace noticed two things while she did this: one was that her lip was split in the left hand corner; the other was that there was a piece of paper in her hand. Deciding to mention the latter, he spoke up.

"With my partner and I here, of course we'll catch the guy. What's that in your hand?" He pointed, letting his professional instincts takeover and dropping the asshole act.

Clary squeezed her eyes shut before replying, obvious anxiety lacing her tone.

"You can't tell Jia. I found it where the painting was stolen, I picked it up, and she can't know, I don't want her to think me a liability and fire me- this job is the only thing I love." She held out the paper.

As long as you don't love Sebastian, Jace thought.

Taking the paper, he opened it up, smoothing out the lines from where Clary had been clutching it tightly in her palm. Reading it through, his eyes widened slightly, and he got his phone out to text Jordan. Typing out a message, he looked back at the piece of paper that had caused Clary to put her head in her hands.

In perfect, elegant handwriting, the note was written in blood red:

_My darling Clarissa,_

_How I have missed you. You're painting is lovely; I shall be keeping it to remind me of you- though I wish I could have some photographs instead._

_One day we will be together again… Until then, I will be waiting for you._

_-M._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hopefully I will be able to update regularly, any suggestions or comments are appreciated so please review. Also, I'm ready to add some more characters in, so tell me your ideas, thank you for reading :)**

Chapter 5: Seven Devils

Jace and Clary hadn't uttered a word since they entered Jace's flat. They sat opposite each other; hands wrapped around undrunk mugs of scolding coffee, waiting for an appropriate time to breach the subject of, what Jace now liked to refer to it as, 'The Note'.

After Jace had read The Note back at the museum, he had texted Jordan telling him to get a lift home with their co-worker (and Jace's brother) Alec after collecting anything he needed from Jia Penhallow. Following this text he had grabbed Clary's hand –ignoring her unusually noticeable flinch- and dragged her to his car, overthinking everything as he led her to his apartment, paying no attention to her protests.

It took all his willpower not to grab Clary's hand as he noticed how pale he was, so he distracted himself by finally getting his thought process into order and prepared to interview Clary as if she were just another ordinary victim.

"Has anything like this ever happened before?" He asked her quietly, trying his hardest not to intimidate her. She looked up, dull eyes glassy with fatigue, and opened her shook her head.

"Never. I- I have no enemies, I don't even have friends…" Her voice wavered and she looked down again, curls falling into her face as she bit down on her lip, anxiety curling inside of her. Jace looked surprised at this- how could a girl like Clary have no friends? He had only known her two days, yet he the whole of those two days he had been craving to know everything about her.

Well, maybe not everything…

Eh, who was he kidding; she was a mystery.

Coughing and sitting up slightly, Jace brought out a pad and pen from his bag and settled back into his chair; he was determined to find out where The Note had come from, and there was no way he wasn't going to take advantage of this opportunity to find out anything and everything he could about Clary.

"What did the piece that was stolen look like; did it have any significant tie to you or your life?" Pleased with his question, Jace poised his pen on the pad- the hesitated when he saw the look on Clary's face. Her lip was still between her teeth, but she was one again looking up. She breathed in heavily and looked to the corner of the room with slightly brighter eyes before answering, her voice only slightly tense.

"It was my mom. A picture of my mom Jocelyn- it was abstract but it was her. I didn't even mean it to be in the gallery; Jia came knocking on the studio door one day whilst I was working on it and insisted it be put on display, a fluke that it was even in the gallery, so I have no idea how anyone would know about it- it wasn't in any handouts. And as for the connection to my life, no one in this city knew my mom so they would have no need for the picture, in fact, no one even knows what she looke- god!" She jumped from her seat at the final word, startling Jace who had been listening intently to her captivating voice, and knocked her chair over in the process.

Apologising unnecessarily, she got on her knees to pick up the chair; bumping her head and hissing as she flustered on Jace's floor. Alarmed, Jace rushed to help her, pulling up the chair then pulling up Clary, depositing her on the chair as he moved his own round closer to hers and rubbed her back gently, trying to get her to calm down. She was breathing heavily, nearly gasping as she muttered incoherently under her breath, words merging into one as she panicked.

"Clary, Clary! Relax, breath okay, you're gonna pass out if you don't calm down." He tried reaching for her, but once again Clary shot out of her chair. Her small hands reached up into her crimson hair and she pulled, tugging at her roots as she spoke frantically.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I can't be here; I have to go!" Jace finally stood up as he heard a tear from her fingers in her curls, and fat tears began to roll down her face. Rushing to her he grabbed hold of her, trapping her for the second time against his body. She struggled, feebly attempting to free herself from his cage, finally giving up when she realised that his tan hands were locked together- unbreakable. Giving in to this and deciding that she didn't care about what Sebastian would do if he found out; she clutched the front of his white shirt, burying her face into his chest and sobbing.

Trying his very hardest to pretend being this close to her didn't drive him insane, Jace gripped her tighter, hanging onto her as if he were the one falling apart- as if he could hold together all of her broken pieces. They stayed like this, Clary traumatised and Jace loyal for what seemed like eternity, but eventually Clary's sobs subsided.

"I'm sorry" She muttered, her face lifting from his chest. "I'm weak." Her hands were still tangled in his shirt and her eyes were red and puffy. Wiping her eyes on the back of her hand she detangled herself from Jace, both of them feeling empty as they stepped away.

"You aren't weak. You're scared; understandably so, and I am going to do everything in my power to help you. Now, for lack of a better word, what the hell was that? Are you okay?" Jace's eyes searched her own as shed stared glassily at the wall; usually bright green eyes dull, twisting her fingers together as she spoke. It was making Jace nervous just to watch her, however he found himself able to breathe as she started talking.

"I know who it is."

"That's great to hear bu- wait what! You know who sent the note; you know who took the painting?" Jace replied, utterly confused.

Clary nodded her head, the mess of red bouncing as she did so.

"Just don't, don't interrupt- or I'll never be able to finish." Jace nodded, not entirely sure if she could see him: her eyes stayed fixed to the white walls.

"Valentine Morgenstern; or 'M', a signature he used to sign absent notes." Feeling sick to the stomach, she continued.

"My father. He, he is a sick man. I spent the first teen years of my life with him- me, my mother, him and my big brother all lived together; he was insane. He drank, smoked pot, gambled with his filthy, disgusting friends, taking over our house with his poison. He's mentally unstable- we couldn't do anything to get away from him. He is the scariest… creature I have ever met- he used to be violent, beat on my mom, cheat on her, smack Jon and hi- hit me." She stuttered out the last part, squeezing her eyes shut as memories of belts and cigarette lighters swam into her head. Leaving out details, deciding that they would be in his case file, Clary went on, oblivious to Jace's clenched fists.

"My mom left him when I was 11, taking me and Jon with her to a friend's house before getting a job in a different state, changing our names to 'Fray' to cover the tracks. It was great, my mom was so brave, Jon was happy, I was happy- it was relief after years of torture, and it was fresh air. We lived like this for four whole years, until I was 15." Gulping down air, she felt a cold sweat breakout on her forehead; black eyes so freakishly familiar to Sebastian's seeping into her vision.

"Then he found us. It was September; I remember my brother saying goodnight to me, my mom calling up that she loved me. Then I woke up to screaming, screaming coming from my mother's mouth outside of my room. I ran to the landing, Jon following me in time to see my Valentine shoot my mom, there and then. Jon ran to his room and tried to call the cops while I hid in my room, like the coward that I still am, waiting for help. Then he came, bursting into my room, gun in hand, shouting at me, telling me I was coming with him, blaming me for everything, blaming me. All I remember is hearing the gun go off…" She trailed off, face white as a feather.

Leading her to his small leather sofa, Jace sat down with her close to him, unknowingly rubbing circles into the back of her hand.

"I woke up 6 months later. My father had been caught, sentenced to life in prison, no chance of parole. Both my mother and brother were dead- I had been in a coma, missing the funerals. I was taken into a home until I was 17, which was when I left. My father hasn't bothered me since, never a word. Except now, he's obviously out, escaped, got someone on the outside- I don't know. All I know is that he is messing with me; my worst nightmare has come to life."

Sighing heavily, Clary sat back, burying herself in the sofa cushions. Seeing that she was done speaking, Jace spoke up.

"Clary… I'm, I had no, I… I…. I'm gonna catch this guy, I'm going to make him pay for what he did- I promise." He finished confidently, pleased when Clary looked at him, the fog in her eyes clearing as she smiled slightly.

"I don't doubt the power of your arrogance Jace; I just know he's crazy. Don't throw yourself at him- be careful."

Jace nodded, admittedly lying to himself saying that her concern for him didn't make him feel overjoyed.

"Well then, I better text Jordan." Doing so, he turned his back, spinning round as he heard the door click open.

"What are you doing?" He asked Clary, who was standing in the doorframe shrugging on her jacket.

"I need coffee." She stated simply, heading out. In a spur of the moment decision, she threw caution to the wind- deciding her life was officially as fucked as it could get.

"You coming?"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Short. Disappointing. I know, but i hope this gives some insight into the past, please enjoy. :)**

Chapter 6: The Unloved Kids

Clary walked through the door, jacket slung over Jace's arm and a smile on her face. Turning to grab her jacket, she was met with the sight of Jace appraising her apartment, eyebrows high and a smirk on his lips.

"It doesn't look like Sebastian has spent any time here, it's too… colourful." Placing her jacket on the sofa he wandered through the rooms, running his fingers over the cool grey countertops, nodding in approval at Clary's own artwork that hung on the hallway walls. It wasn't the most magnificent of apartments, however Sebastian had a taste for expensive house ware and luxurious furniture, so there was a profitable amount of lux; two large couches sat against the wall, a glass coffee table and a large oak dining table sat in the middle of the apartment, the rest of the space was occupied by a kitchen, two bedrooms, Seb's office and a bathroom.

Following Jace around, she tried to stop him from entering the bedroom (albeit the fact the room was spotless) because it felt odd to her for him to be entering the room that she and Sebastian shared; she was too late to stop him though, and ended up following him into the room. He was looking around, an odd look on his face as he stopped dead in his tracks; it made Clary and Sebastian's relationship too real seeing the room. Coughing into his hand to hide the awkward tension, he stepped out back into the living room.

"So, where is Sebastian?" Jace asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Clary looked at her feet and twisted her hands together.

"He's… out. Business trip." She rushed the words out, eager to get off of the topic.

"Shall I stay then; I don't want you here alone, especially not with what is going on with Valentine." Jace asked Clary, silently hoping she would ask him to stay, however Clary was growing nervous, the thought of Sebastian coming home to Jace being there made her feel sick, so she back pedalled immediately.

"Seb should be home soon, in fact I haven't even checked my phone today- he will probably be home early." She smiled a false smile, lips quivering as she prayed Jace would believe her. He gave her a look, a disbelieving look, before nodding his head.

"Alright then. I will see you around Miss Fray; I'll be in touch about the case." Turning to saunter out of the room, he dropped his card on the table – slamming the door behind him.

Clary sunk onto the sofa, overstuffed pillows forcing her to sink further into herself. She dropped her head into her hands, rubbing her temples and thinking about the previous hour she and Jace had spent in the coffee shop. After what felt like forever, sitting opposite each other in stony silence, Jace had caved and asked her about her mother. She had felt awkward at first, nervous even, to talk to Jace about her mom; it was a topic she had never discussed with anyone before, not even Sebastian. However, when she had met his molten gold eyes, she realised he was sincere, he actually cared: a feeling she wasn't used to.

So she had talked, for ages, Jace asking her questions, not just about her mother but also about her hobbies, aside from painting. Clary had also decided that some nosiness on her part could be justified considering the fact that she had practically spilled her guts to him for the past few hours, so she asked him about himself. Jace had looked weary for a moment, before telling Clary about his adopted siblings Alec and Isabelle, seeming relieved when she didn't ask him how he came to be adopted; she was far too familiar with the concept of secrecy as it happened.

Lifting her head from her hands, Clary walked into her bedroom to pick up her phone from atop the dresser. Sitting on the bed as the screen loaded, her heart dropped into her stomach as she realised she had seven missed calls from Sebastian- not a good sign. Bracing herself for the inevitable, she played her voicemail.

_"Clarissa. I was at work when I got a call from one of my informants that there had been a robbery at the gallery- what the hell is going on."_

The message nearly brought tears to her eyes; she remembered a time when the first thing Sebastian would have said after something bad happened would be 'Are you okay'. Now it was just making sure she had not tarnished his respected reputation.

Sighing and pressing play on the remaining six messages, she sat back.

_"Clarissa, pick up the goddamn phone. Three calls about this I've had, do you know how embarrassing that? Very. Pick up."_

_"This is getting childish."_

_"CLARISSA. For fuck sake, what does it take to get you to pick up…"_

_"I'm angry now. You've probably left your phone at home, forgetful cow."_

_"What's this I hear you've gone in with the police? I've told you not to talk to anyone."_

As menacing as these were, it was the final message that turned Clary's heart cold.

_"Well, well, well. I just had an interesting phone call with the chief of police. So you are out with Jace Herondale are you? Whore. I told you what would happen- aren't you lucky I'm coming home a day early; see you soon."_

Whimpering, Clary could almost imagine Sebastian's midnight glare on her, burning through any confidence she had left and stripping down her pride.

Turning her phone off she walked to the bathroom, showering fast and removing the makeup from her face, revealing the hideous purple marks along her neck and cheeks, along with the mottled bruises on the rest of her body. She sighed again, the reflex becoming second nature, and settled down onto her bed. Tomorrow would be torturous, but she couldn't find it in her heart to worry; it was just another day. God, she sickened herself! So weak and pitiful, she was the shell of what she once was, a shell of the person she was before she met Sebastian Verlac.

It had been her first year of university- Clary and her best friend since junior high, Simon, were walking through a small bookshop to the back office; they both worked there under the guidance of Amatis Graymark, a kind middle aged widower who enjoyed Clary and Simon's company. Chatting idly to her friend, she was stacking shelves when Simon was called to the back by Amatis. He asked her to take register duty, and she did, waiting, bored, for twenty whole minutes. About to give up and walk out to the shelves, Clary heard the small bell chime to signal the doors opening. Turning to greet the customer, she was met with the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Young, around twenty- her age-, with long, muscled arms and legs and jet black hair. His eyes were black, piercingly so, almost silver in the fluorescent lights. His perfectly chiselled features were carved into an arrogant expression, and his loose black jeans and tight white shirt made him look like a god.

"Excuse me," He said, looking directly at Clary, "Would you happen to know where the staff are?" His accent was lilting enunciated, no trace of joking at all. Clary liked him. Pushing herself away from the desk, she approached him.

"How can I help you?"

Those were the first words she ever spoke to the man who ruined her life. After a brief discussion on the best books to study defence, he asked Clary out; she of course said yes. They went out, to expensive restaurants and romantic seaside resorts, staying with each other practically every second of the day. Clary noticed from the start how jealous Seb could get, how possessive he was; she wasn't even allowed to see Simon, and he was her best friend, however, naively, she didn't mind- she found it endearing.

They both finished University three years later- Seb fast tracking it straight into his father's office, and Clary joining minor art exhibition planning, completely cut off from her former life. She hadn't worked for Amatis in years, and Sebastian had, unknowingly to her, been deleting any and all messages from her friends, blocking them out of her life. It was then that he started getting violent. It started off as small things; Clary didn't cook dinner for him during the first week they had moved in together, so he shouted at her. He had apologised after, but there was something in those eyes. It continued to slaps, kicks, intentionally not allowing her out and verbally putting her down, progressing on and on until it became paranoia- Seb thought she was cheating, so he hit her. And because she had no one else, she kept it inside. He loved, she just made him angry. It was her fault for being disobedient, he would calm down eventually: he never did.

Clary lifted her head off the pillow, noticing dampness on her cheeks. Wiping it off, she shook her head, a feeble attempt to remove any traces of the awful memories that plagued her. It was a case of loneliness now; if she left, she would have no one, no family and no love- she couldn't handle that. And with her father on the loose again, who knows what he was planning. She stood up, walking to the living room. There was only one thing to calm her uneasiness: art.

Jace paced his apartment, trying to figure out what to do. He had called Jordan and informed him of the situation with Clary, giving him all the information on Valentine, remembering to tell Jordan not to tell Jia anything.

"Okay man, but if she asks I will have to tell her. Tomorrow we will look into a search party. I have checked the prison database already, and according to that, Valentine Morgenstern is still locked in a high security prison; so either your Clary girl is paranoid, or the prison isn't quite as high security as we had hoped." Jordan had replied, filling Jace in on the situation.

Jace knew that Clary wasn't paranoid though; the things that man had done, abusing his family and then murdering them- it was the purest evil Jace could imagine. Just the thought of anyone hurting Clary,_ his_ Clary made him feel sick. He wanted the bastard that put her through all that pain to burn- he deserved nothing but the worst.

"Ugh!" Jace cried at the wall, hitting out in frustration. "Why is this so hard?"

He shook his hand, grumbling to himself as he moved toward his bedroom, eventually falling into restless dreams of angels falling from rooftops and monsters lurking in the dark.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Leave The Dust Behind.

Jace swerved, narrowly avoiding a Honda backing out of a driveway. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he tried to calm his breathing; tapping his hand against the steering wheel and focusing on the road. His concentration had been somewhere else the past few days: Clary. It had been three days since they had found The Note, three days since they had had coffee together and three days since he had seen her- it was driving him ever so slightly insane. Finally pulling into the precinct, he rounded the corner into his and Jordan's section, gratefully taking the cup of coffee off of Alec, who had joined Jace and Jordan for the case seeing as they needed all the help they could get.

"What have we found, boys?" Jace asked, slipping into his chair and turning on his computer, the question the first thing on his mind.

"Good morning to you too." Jordan said sarcastically, ruffling through files as Alec typed furiously on his laptop. Jordan spun his chair dramatically and wheeled himself over to Jace, a pile of documents in hand. "To answer your earlier question, we have found a fucking lot. Valentine Morgenstern was not a good man; in fact, I'm surprised he wasn't in prison sooner. He was charged with fraud, embezzlement, battery and assault, theft, tax evasion and, the icing on the cake- murder. And this wasn't even Jocelyn 'Fray' Morgenstern's murder; this was the accusation of Danny Roberts' murder, an eighteen year old misc runner from Brooklyn." Taking a deep breath and handing Jace the file, Alec picked up the speech.

"He was arrested four times, three times on suspicion of fraud and assault, however he seems to have friends high up because all evidence was found to be null, and all cases were dismissed eventually. It was the Roberts murder case that caused the most controversy; he spent three weeks in prison after CCTV footage of Morgenstern leaving the murder scene was dragged out, but the bastard got his own son involved, stating- and I quote- that ' My son looks a lot like me, why don't you blame that piece of crap.' After this the defence found it much easier to accuse anyone, and Valentine went free once again." It was Alec's turn to sigh deeply. Throughout the speech Jace had been flicking through the files, tapping words into the computer and nodding his head to the details.

"What do we know about his final arrest?" Jace asked, attempting to build his case file as big as possible. Jordan answered, apparently feeling reluctant toward the answer as he was tapping his fingers against Jace's desk.

"He was found at the 'Fray' residence. Report states that he was sitting in the entryway, his ex-wife's body in his arms, laughing hysterically. Tox reports came back negative for any traces of personality effecting drugs and alcohol- he was clean as a whistle but labelled as a sociopath, and a psychopath. Two other bodies apart from Jocelyn's were found- Jonathon Morgenstern's, multiple stab wounds to the chest and neck, several occurring post mortem and Clarissa- Clary- Morgenstern's body, unconscious and comatose, gunshot wound to the stomach and multiple head traumas along with severe bruising. According to this she fell unconscious due to fear and panic more than the gunshot wound, meaning that her body was most likely beaten after she fell asleep. Police arrived on the scene around eight minutes after Jonathon's death, sending Clary to the ER. Valentine was sent straight to prison- no way out of the mess he had created."

At this point Jordan paused, voice quaking slightly as he continued. Jace was surprised at this, as the only things that fazed Jordan were either terrifying or horrifically disgusting.

"During his court case Valentine admitted to everything, either out of guilt or insanity. He admitted to beating his wife and kids, murdering Daniel Roberts, stealing, he admitted to the fraud and theft and he admitted to the… the raping of Clarissa Morgenstern." Jordan stopped, looking slightly green. He watched as Jace's fists clenched and his face turned red before continuing.

"The bodies of Jocelyn and Jonathon were examined by the coroner before being buried and Clary's body was examined while she was still comatose; all tests confirmed Valentine's confessions and he was placed in a high security prison for life."

Jace looked like he could kill a man as Jordan finished. He stood up, smacking his laptop lid down and dragged a hand through his hair, Jordan moving out of the way as he paced. How could this be happening, he knew it was bad, he knew she had gone through a lot, but this? This was too much for even Jace to imagine.

"What do we know about his escape?" He asked, raking a hand down his burning face.

"Not much- at all. We know he escaped about three weeks ago; it was put on the low down because the goddamn wardens didn't want to lose their jobs. An APB was put out about two days ago, but nothing has come up yet. He seems to have a hacker friend on the outside; all cameras were inoperative on the night of the escape, allowing Valentine and two of his known associates, Emil Pangborn and Samuel Blackwell to get free. The hacker's style fits the one of renowned criminal hacker by the name of 'Hugin', though no other information about him is known." Jordan said, looking through his files as he talked.

"We'll get him Jace." Alec reassured, sensing his brothers distress. "We always do in the end."

"I know we do." Jace said, standing next to Alec, leaning against his desk. "That's what I'm worried about- in the end. What's going to happen before it ends? Valentine Morgenstern is possibly the worst criminal we have ever faced, and a life hangs in the balance here- Clary. I'm just glad I live in the same building as her so I don't worry about someone killing her in the night." It wasn't a complete lie, but that wasn't the only reason Jace liked being near to Clary; the other reason was far scarier.

"Speaking of Clary, I'm gonna go check on her. I'll do more work from my apartment; see if there are any ties to gangs in the area. Do what you can to locate Valentine- I'll report back later, good luck." Jace picked up his coat, pacing out of the precinct.

"He's totally into her." Jordan said to Alec, staring at his screen.

"I know" Alec said, smirking at the blond's retreating figure. "Ten bucks he tells her by Christmas."

"You're so on."

Jace walked briskly down the hallway of his building, on the second floor today, approaching Clary's room. He reached it, nervousness building in the pit of his stomach; he knew she wasn't home as she had told him and the boys she would be staying at home- it would be too risky to go to the place Valentine had broken into. Jace was never nervous, he was the smoothest talker, he was the one making girls nervous with his golden eyes and white smile and perfect-… what was that noise? Approaching Clary's door he leant in as close as he dared in case she walked out; through the door he could hear whimpers- Clary's whimpers. Listening closer he heard a male voice, hushed voices and the sound of something striking something else, followed by a series of groans and shouting as the noises continued.

"Hey!" Jace shouted, knocking on the door loudly. "Open up! Detective Herondale, open this door now or I break it down." He listened closer, hearing the sound of hushed voices again; he was about to break the door down when it opened, revealing the slimiest creature to ever infect the face of the earth.

Or at least, in Jace's opinion.

Sebastian Verlac. All six foot five of the evil man, standing confidently against the doorframe, a blinding smirk across his mouth. Jace wanted to cover his eyes.

"Ah, Detective Jace Herondale, what a pleasure to see you again." Jace pushed passed him, ignoring the smarmy comment and looking around for Clary.

"Where is she?" Jace asked, venom lacing his voice.

"In the bathroom, she'll be out shortly." Was Sebastian's curt reply. He looked very unimpressed by Jace, tightening his tie and looking around his apartment.

"I heard shouting; a disturbance you could say…" Sebastian raised an eyebrow at this comment, something flashing through his eyes before he composed himself again.

"Ah, yes." Replied Sebastian. "We seem to have gotten a little, carried away." He winked, causing Jace to nearly throw a punch at him; however Clary chose this time to walk out of the bathroom, green eyes glancing dully around at the scene before her.

"Seb, what's going on? What are you doing here Jace?" She stood on her own, about a metre away from the men, acting distant and emotionless as she spoke.

"I was just leaving." Sebastian said, his eyes turning even colder as his gaze sweeps over Clary. "Remember what I said Clarissa." He leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Don't wait up for me; I'll be staying with a… friend." He grinned devilishly at her before exiting the room, waves of hostility rolling off of him.

Jace stared after him, disgusted, before looking at Clary.

She was as beautiful as ever, and it was like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time; he couldn't get enough of her, even though her had was in her hands and she looked devastated.

"Clary." Jace said, moving toward her. She lifted her head, no signs of tears, just frustration.

"Jace." She said, matching his monotone. Then they both laughed, Jace grinning and Clary smiling for real for the first time.

"Sebastian seems like an asshole." Jace commented, following Clary into the kitchen and perching on a chair as she began to pour out coffee.

"He is." Clary stated, moving around sugarpots, standing on her tiptoes to try and reach the mugs. Jace attempted to hold in a laugh at the small redhead, but failed miserably, earning a glare from said red head.

"Then why do you stay with him?" Clary seemed dumbfounded by this question, stopping her rummaging to look at Jace, apparently having a well thought out answer as if she had contemplated the answer before.

"I stay with him because he loves me." She said, obviously questioning it herself. "Because, without him, I would have no one. She smiled slightly, unfortunately reverting back to her original faked smile. Jace looked at her as she began to fill up mugs, placing one in front of either of them.

"You would have me…" Jace said, forgetting the situation, but completely and utterly not caring. Clary stared at him, slightly shocked by the statement.

"Jace, that's sweet, but you are the cop assigned to track down my psycho father. If we had never seen each other after that day on the roof, we would have forgotten about each other.

"I could never forget about you Clary. In fact…" Jace was cut off by the ringing of his phone. "Damn it, hold that thought Clary." Standing up, he turned his back to her and hissed at Jordan. "This better be good Jordan, I was in the middle of something important."

Jordan's voice came back, distorted but understandable, and slightly panicked.

"Oh it is Jace. We found something else about Morgenstern, something we think you should know as soon as possible. Twelve years ago, a while before Morgenstern was locked up; he was accused of another murder, one that he confessed to only when he was caught at the Fray's house. A couple; a young couple with a thirteen year old son. Jace; a couple that lived up north, in a fancy area with a nice house, by the names of Celine and Stephen Herondale. Jace. The bastard killed your parents."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I'm sorry! Coursework and exams are piling up, so I won't be as frequent, but next week is the holidays so I can update more, P.S., I deleted this chapter and have now re uploaded it, updated and better, as the last version wasn't up to standard. Sorry for the confusion and i hope you enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 8: Can't Hold Her Together.<p>

Clary stared at him as he spoke on the phone, still shell shocked from where that conversation had been leading; she liked Jace, a lot, in fact he was the only person she felt safe around, but the more she saw him the guiltier she felt- Sebastian would hate it. She was jolted from her train of thought as she realised Jace had not spoken in a while; turning her eyes back to his lean back, she noticed he wasn't moving- the phone in his hand blaring out a strangers voice, shaking slightly in his immobile hand. She stood up, walking towards him slowly as the shouting through the phone increased.

"Jace! Jace did you hear what I said? Goddamn it Alec I knew we should've waited to tell him. Jace!" A male's voice was shouting, slightly desperate. As she finally got in front of Jace she was disgruntled by what she saw- he was still as a statue, face ashen and emotionless, clutching the phone with a loose grip, eyes blank. Plucking the phone from his hand, she placed it to her ear and waved in front of his face, attempting to get a response. Giving up, she spoke into the cell.

"Hello?" She spoke gently, hoping to get the man on the other side to stop his screaming.

"Uh… hi? Who is this?" The guy questioned, slightly confused.

"It's Clary, I'm here with Jace…"

"Clarissa! The girl from the case! Look we haven't met yet, but I'm Jordan -Jace's partner, we work together. Where did he go?"

Clary looked at Jace, the shell of her golden saviour, and decided she couldn't quite tell Jordan the truth.

"He…he had to step outside. Yeah, he seemed a bit, off, is he okay?"

She heard Jordan breathe deeply down the phone and awaited the answer with bated breath.

"Ask him yourself Clary; it's not my place to say. Tell him me and Alec will be at the precinct til late tomorrow, he can come by when he has sorted everything out." Jordan, the ever increasingly irritating asshole, hung up.

Clary put down the phone, then moved toward Jace.

"Jace, Jace are you okay? What's going on, you are freaking me out." She moved to shake his arm, but the second she touched him he sprang to life, jumping away from Clary, his eyes coming back to their usual molten gold state. Clary, slightly offended by Jace's reaction took another step forward toward him, only to be met with his harsh voice.

"Did you know?" He almost hissed, anger seeping from him. Clary was startled and faltered, stopping in her tracks.

"K-know what?" She whispered, almost as scared as when Sebastian was angry.

"About your father. That he was a murderous, cowardly son of a bitch! Did you know!" His lips were curled back in…. disgust?

Clary wanted to cry.

"What do you mean Jace, what's going on?" Her voice shook as she spoke to him, looking at the floor and not directly at him. He seethed, anger filling him up, hatred and remorse and sorrow filling its way up into Jace's heart, and he didn't know where to direct it- so he continued on Clary.

"God this is so, so fucked up. He killed my parents, my parents Clary! Tell me what you know. Tell me damn it!" With this Jace stepped forward and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her; this woke him up.

Clary flinched, hard enough to shake his hands to shake, and turned her face away, eyes clenched shut, preparing for a strike- she was used to it, she deserved it. Her father killed Jace's parents- no wonder she was hurt by Sebastian, she deserved it. However, instead of forceful limbs, she was met with Jace's soft hands pressed to her face.

"Clary! Clary, look at me please, god I am so sorry, I wasn't going to hit you, I never would, please look at me." He stroked her cheek softly, absently feeling over a slightly purple mark. She turned her head back, bright hair getting caught between Jace's fingers.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, barely looking into his regretful eyes. Jace looked shocked and replied quickly.

"What on earth do you have to be sorry for? It was my fault for losing my temper it's just, well Jordan called" He ran a hand through his hair. "…he told me that, your father-Valentine- killed my parents. Stephen and Celine Herondale, I know it was a long time ago but, that, their death put me in a home, foster homes, eventually adopted but, still in a home. He's taken so much from me, from you; I didn't know what to say. But I know you are nothing like him, I know it now- I always did." Jace breathed out, bracing himself for Clary asking him to leave: she instead wrapped her thin, pale arms around his torso. Automatically wrapping himself in her apple and cinnamon scent, he breathed out.

"We are so messed up." Clary said into his chest, causing him to laugh.

"We really are."

Finally breaking apart they moved back to the table, sitting closer to each other as they nursed their cold coffees.

"So what's going on with the case?" Clary asked him, swirling her drink around.

"We haven't found out anything of great value yet- we know he has escaped through the help of a hacker by the name of 'Hugin', and has escaped with two other convicts, Pangborn and Blackwell. Does either of those names ring any bells?"

Clary nodded her head.

"The two convicts, they used to play poker with my father and this couple, Raphael Santiago and Camille Belcourt. They were nearly as crazy as my dad." Jace nodded, understanding how this group of felons could be comfortable around each other- it made him want to gag thinking about the fact they had all been under the same roof as Clary at some point. He saw her thinking, her adorable nose scrunched up as she contemplated the events. He examined her face, eyes locking onto something that made his stomach turn.

"What's that?" Jace asked, moving to tuck a piece of curl behind her ear, revealing a shallow cut by her head, imprinted into her temple.

She jerked away, moving her hair back, mumbling an incoherent 'Nothing' as a reply. Jace couldn't stand it anymore, he was a law enforcer for god sake, he couldn't just stand back whilst her face was in the state it was.

"Don't lie to me again Clary. You've lied to me since the start, sneaking around a rooftop at night, then the bruises- so many bruises and I have noticed them all. Just tell me what is going on."

She shook her head, standing up and putting her mug in the sink- Jace followed.

"It's nothing." She said "I'm just clumsy, I tripped on my own feet, I'm fine." She swirled water around in the bowl, avoiding eye contact with Jace; her lies were feeble.

"Clary. I spend my life around liars, and you sure as hell are not a good one- tell me who did this, I'll help you."

Clary's determination wavered- why should she stay quiet, why did she have to stay in this dark place? While Sebastian had every control over her….

"That bastard." Jace whispered, dark realisation dawning on his features. "I'll kill him, I swear to god. Where is he?" Jace moved to his coat, picking it up and heading to the door.

"Jace!" Clary yelled; following and grabbing onto his arms do that he faced her. "Jace stop, what are you doing?"

"Sebastian." He said, looking her straight in the eye. "He did that to you, that sick asshole, does he know about your dad? Does he know anything? Why are you even with him Clary, he _beats_ you."

Clary looked him straight in the eye, silent.

"He loves me." She said hoarsely, eyes skittish; Jace had to hold back a scoff.

"He abuses you- you don't deserve that." Clary returned to staring at the ground, the soft carpet fascinating.

"But I do…" She whispered, catching Jace off guard. "I do, look at me. It's all my fault, I make Seb angry, he loves me and I make mad, my father killed your parents! Don't you see, I'm the one to blame, it's no one but me. I don't deserve your help." She looked down, almost oblivious to Jace's body nearing hers. How could he explain how amazing she was? How beautiful and kind she was, how utterly unique she was? He didn't know how to describe it.

Instead he pulled her into a hug, once again too close for either of them to successfully comprehend the situation.

"You're wrong Clary, and I'm going to do everything in my power to prove it to you." He didn't know what to think, he couldn't report Seb because Clary would know, and it was immoral to gut Verlac, as much as he wanted to. He pulled her tighter, relishing in the fact she gripped him tighter and almost lost himself in a wave of obliviousness.

Then the door flew open.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope this is okay to satisfy you for the holiday, and I will hopefully update soon. Have an amazing day tomorrow and enjoy. P.s, thank you for the reviews, they have been making my day, plus fuelling me to keep writing:) **

**Chapter 9: Cold Comfort**

He wasn't having the best day. In fact, his days were hardly ever good, between work with his asshole of a dad, avoiding the pain in the ass that was Jace Herondale and putting up with that bitch Clary he called his girlfriend he could hardly stand it. He knew he wasn't a good person, but did he care? No. All he wanted was to get away from the world outside, shut himself up in a place where he had control and no one could defy him; he thought he was heading exactly toward that place, however when Sebastian opened the door he was met with a sight that made his already acrid blood boil.

Jumping apart, Jace and Clary looked startled at Sebastian as he entered the living room. Eyes narrowing and a snarl forming on his lips, Sebastian spoke, words like ice.

"Herondale. Get out of my house." Clary shivered at his words, catching eyes with Jace's gold ones, telling her that he had to leave.

"Seb" Clary said, stepping towards him, nervousness seeping through her veins. "We were just hugging…" Jace stepped forward, brushing past her; he couldn't stay, Sebastian would be angrier at Clary because of him.

"It's fine Clary, I'll go." He put a hand gently on her shoulder and then moved to Sebastian. "Watch your back Verlac." Jace shot Clary a look, pushing his way past Sebastian then walking through the door, praying to anyone that Clary would be okay.

Watching Jace leave, Clary's heart plummeted to her feet, pulse increasing and eyes widening, the panic settling in.

"Seb…" She began, only to be pushed to the floor by Sebastian. She fell with a thud before groaning, rolling to stare at Sebastian.

"Don't talk bitch. I leave you, for less than an hour, and you're already all over another man. I was right about you, you're just a slut, what do you think Herondale wants from you? Your body, your scrawny, pathetic body- he sees you as a whore Clarissa! We all do! Why don't you get that I am the only person in this world that gives a damn, but you keep on defying me…" He lashed out, kicking her already bruised body, digging his expensive leather boots into her ribs, getting high on the screeches being elicited from her bruised lips. He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her up into a standing position, and pressed her against, small shoulders cracking on impact with the ivory plaster. Sebastian trailed his lips down her neck, ignoring her shivers of disgust, pretending he couldn't hear her cries of indignation.

"You are _mine_ Clary, you always have been and you always will be. I told you not to talk to Herondale, to anyone, but you don't listen. Now you're going to pay." Clary let out a scream as he bit down on her neck, struggling manically against his tight grip as he repeatedly pushed her against the wall. Growing restless Sebastian pulled her away and threw her to the ground with a blow to the face, hitting hard enough to split her already swollen lip. Clary shook with fear, green eyes glassy and wide as he pulled a flick knife from the pocket of his suit. He knelt, pulling her top up to expose her stomach, holding her hips down as she struggled against him.

"Stop! Seb stop! Please, please!" Begging had become a norm to her, but her pleas were cut off by her involuntary screams as he dug the knife into her flesh, dragging the blade across her skin, carving the letters 'S.V' onto her pale body. Pulling the knife out of her he grinned, wiping the blood from her wound and spreading it into her clothes as he stood, pleased.

"You're worthless Clarissa; nobody wants you." And with that Sebastian walked over her body, ignoring her whimpers, and walked into his room, slamming the door. Clary sat, the same old familiar feeling of burning wounds clouding her mind, the situation finally dawning on her. It was a vicious cycle, she could pretend all she wanted but Sebastian was evil and she could never get away from him whilst living. Taking her usual tour to the bathroom, she glared at the mirror, hating the battered reflection that stared back at her; turning her face away she reached for a towel to wipe away the blood from her hips, biting back a scream at what she saw on the small, white windowsill.

Sitting in pool of darkened red liquid was a decrepit rose, a shell of a flower left to rot in her bathroom. Gingerly picking it up, a small piece of folded paper emerged from the puddle of what she could only assume was blood.

_Why was blood the only constant in her life?_

Unfolding the damp paper, she held back vomit as the blood trickled down her fingers, words swimming in her vision.

'What lovely big eyes you have whilst you sleep, my dear, I'm glad you got my message. I'll be seeing you shortly, wait up for me…'

Clary cringed, panic sweeping over her as she vomited into the sink. It was never ending; life was hell. She couldn't take it, there was no escape from the demons in her life, what had she done to deserve such a punishment?

Pushing her way out of the bathroom, she stumbled to the door- ignorant to her blood spattered clothes and dishevelled figure. Fighting the lethargy that was closing in, she pushed her way through the corridor- bursting with all her strength through heavy metal doors to the stairway to the roof.

She ran, attempted to run, up all the stairs, pausing for breath never and never allowing herself time to rationally think through what she was going through with.

/

Jace sat on the roof, head in his hands breathing heavily. He hadn't moved since he had rushed up, palms sweating, furious at that slime Verlac. He knew what Sebastian was doing to Clary, and he could do nothing about it; she was alone with that bastard while he fumed on the roof, so angry that he nearly missed the whirlwind of red rushing past him, heading toward the shallow concrete edge of the complex.

Rising to his feet he stared transfixed, hypnotised by the familiarity of the situation; Clary was here, on the roof again, running toward the edge- again. He couldn't move; what had Sebastian done now? Anger and panic bubbled inside of him, unfamiliar emotions, making his reactions sluggish; he had no idea how to stop her.

"Clary!" He yelled, hoping to get her to hear him; she seemed in a world of her own. "Stop!" Jace finally found the ability to move, legs stumbling as he rushed to her side, gripping her shoulders as he reached her, spinning her around to face him: only to recoil in disgust.

Her face was dripping; tears and blood mingling together as she sobbed, attempting to hide her bloodied face in her palms. Her hair was a mess, matted curls mixing with dry blood, hands red and eyes bloodshot.

"Let go Jace. Let me go!" She struggled more frantically than before, and Jace realised how out of it she was. It was almost like she was high, eyes wide, skin buzzing- she was completely destroyed.

"Clary, stop, you aren't going anywhere…" Jace tried to hold her firmer, gripping her shoulders tightly, but she just kept struggling.

"I need this Jace, I want this; I want to die, just let me go, please, please, please!" Her voice rose slightly, pitch matching her insane thrashing.

"I told you once before Clary, you aren't going to jump, you aren't going to kill yourself. Not whilst I'm here." Jace moved his head, avoiding her hand as she lashed out.

"What about when you're not here Jace? I'll drown myself, I'll slit my wrists! I'm going to escape, I will, I will , I will…" She continued to chant, however her vision grew fuzzy as she felt a pressure on her shoulder, Jace's slender fingers pressing her bones. She tried once again to escape him, however her world was now clouded in fog, and all she could hear was Jace's murmured apology as she fell into blackness.

/

Isabelle rushed to the door of her pristine apartment, toenails wet with sparkling polish as she pulled the door open to reveal her stepbrother in all of his spontaneous glory; holding an unconscious blood covered redhead in his arms.

"Izzy. Please let us in, she's in serious trouble- I need our help." His eyes were filled with worry and Isabelle wordlessly opened the door, shock dissolving as her nursing instincts kicked in and she went to fetch first aid equipment for the bleeding girl.

"How the hell did this happen Jace? Who is she?" Isabelle mopped up Clary's face after Jace had placed her on the dark sheets of the spare room's bed.

"Do you remember the Morgenstern case Alec and I are on?" Izzy nodded- her brothers had told her a lot. "This is Clary; Morgenstern's daughter. I live in the same building as her, her… boyfriend- Sebastian Verlac- did this to her. I found her on the roof about… about to jump. I hot her out of there and out of that building; you were the first person I thought of coming to." Jace sat back, dragging a hand through his dirty golden hair and sighing. Isabelle studied him- he seemed genuinely worried about this Clary girl. Isabelle was sickened by the story of Verlac, however she was glad he had brought her here; it was the best thing for her- especially if she was attempting to end her life.

"You did a good thing Jace. This is the best place for her. I can look after her, I don't mind at all. In fact, she can stay here. There is no way she is going back to that bastard, and hey- I've always wanted a roommate." Izzy smiled at him, attempting to reassure him, however he just sat silently. "Do you have any clothes in your trunk?" Jace nodded, rising to his feet and heading out of the door.

"I'll be back in a second Iz, thank you- so much- for doing this." He nodded, his aversion to affection switching on, before heading out of the door.

The flame haired girl continued to sleep, murmuring every so often however mostly staying still as Isabelle cleaned her up. Izzy had never seen Jace so protective, and it reminded her of the way her mother and father had once been- inseparable until the end, which had inevitably come. Standing up to rinse out a towel, Isabelle looked back once again to the sleeping girl, curiously pondering what was to come; praying for the battered girl in the bed to be okay.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Longest chapter yet… Review and enjoy! **

Chapter 10: Graceless Heart

Clary awoke with a start, skin stiff and a scream on her lips. Looking around the room she discovered she was not in her own home- nor Jace's for that matter- and began to panic; standing from the dark sheeted bed she walked to the heavy door, breathing heavily and preparing herself for whatever was behind the door. She reached out tentatively, fingers grazing the doorknob, adrenaline coursing through her veins when the door flew open- effectively knocking her off her feet and sending her flat on her back; arching her back off the floor to avoid hitting the bruises.

The most beautiful woman Clary had ever seen entered the room, a tray of food in her slender fingers and a mask of shock on her super model face. She was tall and slim with raven black hair that tumbled past her shoulders in razor straight strands, falling into her warm brown eyes as she placed the tray on a table and leant down to help Clary up. Clary complied, allowing the mystery girl to deposit her on the bed with no complaint as she tried to formulate words.

"I'm so sorry about that!" The ebony haired girl exclaimed, fluttering around the tray before turning back to Clary, holding a large mug of steaming coffee. "My name is Isabelle, but you can call me Izzy- everyone does." Clary accepted the mug gratefully, remembering from her discussions with Jace that his sister was called Isabelle.

"You're Jace's sister…" Clary said softly, throat raw and scratching.

"That'd be me. Jace brought you here, to my apartment, late last night- he had to leave this morning but you'll be okay with me; do you remember anything?" Isabelle smoothed out her dress and sat next to Clary- surprisingly Clary didn't flinch away: she felt perfectly comfortable next to Isabelle.

"Not really… everything's a bit fuzzy… I was on the roof- Jace was there, I was… I was.. Oh god! Sebastian!" The red head put her hand to her head, the events of the previous evening flooding back to her. "He, Sebastian, he… he." She choked; the ability to talk leaving her completely as she remembered everything- Sebastian in the apartment, Jace on the roof- her about to jump. Clary placed her head in her hands and began to shake, attempting to hold in sobs and Izzy took this opportunity to take the coffee back and wrap her arms around Clary.

"Shh, Clary it's okay you're safe now; he can't hurt you here." Izzy rubbed her back soothingly, holding the fragile woman as she tried to calm her breathing.

"I have to go back…" Clary muttered, sniffling into her palms. She looked up and saw Isabelle's stubborn look.

"You aren't going anywhere." She said, refusing to let the red head back into danger.

"He'll kill me Isabelle…"

"Not if you don't go back! Listen to me Clary- I'm a nurse. I've seen my fair share of woman and men, battered and bruised because of abusive relationships; all of whom have told me that getting out of the relationship was the best thing they have ever done. You aren't going back- you are gonna stay with me and I will protect you – so will Jace. You don't deserve this, especially not with the case as well."

Isabelle finished, looking at a wide eyed Clary. Clary sat there, looking at the girl completely shocked, before throwing her arms around Isabelle and squeezing hard. Taken aback, Izzy hugged back, unused to this kind of affection; most of the other girls she hung around with were too worried about ruining their make-up and reputation to hug.

"Thank you." Clary whispered. "This is going to end so badly, but thank you." Isabelle laughed and pulled back.

"I hope not, now come on- you can take a shower in the en suite, I will leave some clothes on the bed for you. We'll talk when you come out." Isabelle rose to her feet, leaving the room whilst Clary walked toward the bathroom.

"Oh, and Clary?" Clary turned her head toward Isabelle.

"I think we are going to be really good friends."

/

It was late in the afternoon and Clary and Isabelle were seated on Izzy's plush velvet sofa, drinking mugs of coffee and discussing anything and everything but Clary's situation.

"So," Clary began, settling back into the sofa, an unfamiliar feeling of safety enveloping her in Izzy's presence. "Don't take offence, but I didn't realise nursing paid so much! Your apartment is massive, and you have so much stuff…" Izzy laughed t Clary's question, no offence taken.

"Well, my parents are very wealthy- lawyers; when they got divorced they both wanted to compete for us kids, trying to get us to like one of them better so they would both give us spate allowances, massive, extortionate amounts that I had no need for when I was fourteen, so I saved it up and I had enough to put myself through medical school, then enough left over to invest in this small boutique. I was always interested in fashion and the owner stayed on, letting me design and create the clothes whilst she sold them- forty nine percent for her, fifty one percent for me. It's pretty successful now, so I get money from that as well as nursing- I'm pretty well off now." Izzy smiled, glad that Clary was genuinely interested.

"That's amazing. You must be so proud; I wish I hadn't wasted so much of my life with Sebastian- I used to be so passionate about art, now I'm struggling to keep a job at a gallery." Clary sighed: Jordan had called her earlier that day informing her she wouldn't be able to go to the gallery until the case was over- it was too risky. Isabelle thought for a moment, trying to think of a solution and not just give Clary empty comfort.

"Well, you don't have to worry about Sebastian anymore, and until Valentine is found you can help me out! I'm great at coming up with ideas for designs, but the communication between my brain and my hand is horrific- you can help me draw out designs… if you want to of course…"

Clary almost teared up again: but she didn't- she was over being miserable.

"Izzy, I would love that. Why are you so kind to me: we haven't even known each other a day?"

Izzy stared at the girl; she really didn't see how genuinely nice she was, how deserving of a better life she was.

"Clary, you are one of the loveliest, most genuine people on this earth! You haven't been given the life you deserve, and that's bullshit karma, but I like you a lot. You're smart, and from what Jace has said about you're art, extremely talented. One day everything will be right and you will realise how deserving you are, and I already consider you a better friend than most people I have known my whole life." Isabelle leaned back; exhausted from her speech but glad she had gotten it out.

"You're awesome, Izzy." Was all Clary could say.

"I know," Izzy replied, grinning with perfect teeth at Clary, "It's a gift." They both smiled, and the atmosphere was light as there was a knock on the door.

Izzy huffed. "I was just getting comfy." She rose to her feet to open the door, and Clary watched- amused by Izzy's attitude. After peering through the eye glass Izzy flung the door open to reveal Jace and a two men who Clary didn't know. Feeling slightly afraid and self-conscious Clary tucked her legs under her and held down her slightly too long green dress, fiddling with her hair as Izzy sat down next to her- slightly closer as if she could sense Clary's discomfort. Clary smiled at her, then faced the oncoming trio who sat down opposite her and Izzy on the slightly larger sofa.

One of the men that came in with Jace was large in stature and broad shouldered, wavy brown hair cropped neatly with kind eyes; he was watching Clary curiously from his position on the edge of the couch. On Jace's other side sat a tall, slender man; dark hair straight and slightly long. He looked like Izzy's twin, so Clary assumed that he was Alec, Izzy's brother. She looked down after her assessment of the men, avoiding Jace's golden gaze; she was ashamed of her behaviour toward him.

"So…" Izzy began, breaking the tense atmosphere. "What are you guys doing here?"

Jace didn't even hear her though- he was too focused on watching Clary, the nervousness she was emitting- leaving Alec to speak up.

"We actually need to talk to Clary, about Sebastian Verlac. Clary, I'm Alec, and this is Jordan- we just need to ask you some questions, if that's okay…" He looked to Jace to finish, but he was still watching Clary tentatively. Clary looked up, suddenly on edge.

"Why do we need to talk about him?" She asked, agitated by her quaking voice. Jordan spoke up, his voice familiar from the phone call.

"So we can send that asshole to jail. You just have to give a statement- and most likely a testimony- and let our friend Maia take some photographs for the court. There is so much evidence against him that there is no way you can lose." Jordan leant back, feeling slightly pleased with himself for his ability to calmly explain the situation; however he knew something was wrong when Clary paled significantly.

"I can't!" Clary exclaimed, looking to Izzy. Izzy placed a manicured hand on her arm to calm her, waiting for her to continue.

"Sebastian, and his father- they are more powerful then you know; I'll lose if I try anything against him- I know, I've tried." This surprised everyone- the three detectives knew nothing of any kind of suit filed against Sebastian, and they had looked through everything about Clary and those around her to get information on Valentine.

"Clary." Alec said, looking slightly awkward as he spoke. "There are no records of anything against Sebastian- what do you mean?" It was Clary's turn again to look uncomfortable; however she knew these were people she could trust, and decided that everyone- especially Isabelle and Jace- deserved to know everything.

"Last year, I can't remember when exactly, I… I had a miscarriage- because of Sebastian. I went to the cops, I even got as far as him being served but then, it just, disappeared. The whole case, the doctor's evidence- the cop's willingness to help. They all told me they couldn't do anything, that there wasn't enough evidence, but I knew the truth- Seb had got to them, made it all disappear. He'll do it again- there's nothing I can do- no way to fight him." She sat back, Izzy speechless- gripping on to Clary, now realising the torture that the girl had gone through. Alec and Jordan were both silent- unsure of what to say, and for a second everything seemed completely hopeless; then Jace spoke up.

"You're forgetting one thing Clary. You have us now- we can't be bribed or bought, half the precinct is involved in you and your case; there are too many people in on this and we can't turn a blind eye. We will win. I know we will." Clary looked him in the eyes finally, sinking into the molten yellow that was his eyes. He was so sincere; there was nothing to do but trust him.

/

Two hours had passed since Jace, Jordan and Alec had first arrived. Clary had given a statement and Izzy had also- telling with medical profession knowledge the state of Clary when she had arrived at the door. A girl named Maia- apparently Jordan's girlfriend- had arrived and taken photos of Clary's injuries- Clary liked her; she didn't judge and didn't make Clary uncomfortable. She was friends with Isabelle and Izzy had already arranged for the three of them to hang out.

It didn't seem so bad to Clary.

Everyone but Clary, Izzy and Jace had left to submit reports, and it was just Clary and Jace alone in the lounge as Izzy had gone to call her boss at the hospital, explaining why she would be absent for the next few days.

"Jace.." Clary began, only to be interrupted by Jace.

"You don't have to say anything Clary; I'm just sorry this is all happening to you." He ran a tan hand through his golden hair and sighed, looking at Clary in all of her battered glory.

She was still beautiful.

Clary piped up, determined to tell Jace how she felt.

"No, I have to say this. I'm sorry for the way I treated you- I'm sorry all I've done is lie to you. You're right, you've always been right; I was going to jump the first time you found me. I had had enough of it, of life- of Sebastian- and I just… wanted to end it. And you saved my life, and I… I lied. Then yesterday, on the roof again; I would've taken a running jump. I wouldn't of waited- couldn't of- and you saved me again and I need to tell you. Thank you. For everything- helping me with the crazy shit with my father, with Sebastian. I haven't had friends in so long and now I feel like- like I can be myself again. Like you guys won't judge me. So thank you." Clary looked at her hands, embarrassed by all her talking but relieved she could tell him.

Jace looked at her, surprised- he hadn't heard her talk so positively yet, and he liked it. Staring at her realised how brave she was, and he wished she could be his. But she couldn't- not yet, he had to wait until everything is over and there was no threat from Sebastian. Jace spoke up, placing a hand softly under her chin.

"You're welcome; I'd do anything for you." He smiled a proper smile that wasn't sarcastic, or a womanizing smirk- Clary liked it and smiled back, at ease with him. However they heard Izzy coming and moved quickly, sitting close to each other grinning like idiots. Izzy walked in, taking in the two and looking on curiously.

"Well…" She spoke, eyebrows high. "Who wants take-out?"


	11. Chapter 11

**I can only say sorry. Read, review, enjoy. **

**Chapter 11: Hard Soul To Save.**

_He was hazy; a man all in black, head to toe in midnight, trailing puddles of glossy paint behind him._

_"Daddy!" The little girl cried out, hands on the cold, flat tile as she was flung around the darkness, head snapping back at the hands of an invisible force as the figure in black watched on silently. _

_She screamed again, flaming hair flying around her head as she was whipped forward and backward, a terrifying dance with the devil. The figure of night continued to stare silently, before releasing a deep chuckle, chest vibrating the emptiness that surrounded them both. He reached o for the girl, who screamed again and backed away, once again being thrown by the force. The man in black chuckled again before raising his dripping hands to his head, peeling off a hood of blackness. He winked._

_Sebastian stroked his face, the blood trickling down his fingers._

_"Wake up, Clarissa."_

/

Clary jolted awake, again, and rapidly surveyed her surroundings. She was in Isabelle's living room- back aching from having slept on the couch, but the familiar sense of protection gradually seeping around her. Breathing heavily, she rose from the couch to see that Jace was snoring softly on the couch opposite hers, having fallen asleep after watching movies with Izzy and Clary the previous evening. She was glad that she hadn't woken him, but at the same time she wished that she wasn't awake either as the constant fear of both Valentine and Sebastian was beginning to follow her around everywhere she went; even her dreams.

Rubbing her eyes she tried to drag herself away from the thought: today she would be productive. Isabelle had agreed to let Clary stay with her indefinitely, and as Sebastian was nowhere to be found she was going to go back to her apartment to collect her things. She smiled at the thought of freedom, as meagre as it was.

Jumping into the shower, she spent as long as she dared scrubbing at her memories; another feeble attempt at cleansing herself of the dream. When she finished she climbed back out, wrapping herself in a towel and heading toward her spare room, throwing on a long sleeved, forest coloured cotton dress, keeping her shielded from the cold, and her cuts and scars shielded from view. As she was finally finished, she threw her damp hair down and headed into the kitchen, ready to clear away the remnants of last night's meal; she was instead greeted by Jace, facing away from her at the helm of a miraculously clear kitchen, cooking something that smelled amazing.

"Morning." He said brightly, without even turning around. Clary almost welled up- how long had it been since Seb had said that to her?

"Morning Jace," She replied, clearing her throat and sitting at one of the chrome stools at the kitchen's island; Izzy was minted. "Did you tidy up, and cook?"

He glanced around, smirking at her incredulous tone with an eyebrow raised.

"Of course, they don't call me perfect for nothing." He winked before turning back around.

"More like, they don't call you perfect- full stop." She teased, amused by how light the atmosphere was.

He laughed aloud before turning to hand her a plate loaded with eggs and bacon and pancakes, setting another enormous portion opposite her, then plonking himself down to begin eating. They both practically inhaled the food, before clattering their cutlery onto empty plates and leaning back, silently.

Clary moaned happily, startling Jace, and he gulped as she licked her lips and leaned toward him.

"That was great. I take back what I said, you kinda are perfect." Jace grinned at this and chuckled.

"So," he said. "What's the plan for today?"

Clary looked nervous again. Jace frowned; whenever she was about to say something that she thought, she just closed up- he blamed Sebastian, and the thought almost ruined the atmosphere: almost.

"C'mon Clary, Spit it out, we can do anything- I've got no plans on this fine Saturday." He folded his hands onto the table, trying to keep the conversation open. Clary forgot about her reluctance as she saw how sincere he was, and opened up.

"I thought we could go to my apartment quickly, just to pick up my stuff?" She queried. Jace frowned slightly, but he quickly covered it as he remembered the news Jordan had delivered to him that morning.

"Of course we can, that won't take long if I drive you- hey, we can get coffee after; the stuff Izzy has tastes like crap."

Clary laughed and nodded, picking up both hers and Jace's plates to the sink, nervous energy spilling from her fingertips as she anticipated their trip. She hadn't been back; she imagined a withered rose in her bathroom and a floor full of secrets, but she was determined to get her life somewhat together before everything inevitably fell apart in the search for Valentine and Sebastian. What a spectacular calm before the storm.

/

The door to the apartment was the same as ever; dull and unyielding, keeper to a home of secrets. Slotting the master key he had received from the floor manager into the lock, Jace gripped the handle as he pushed into the apartment.

To Clary, everything looked the same. She walked carefully into the living room, silently wondering if Sebastian had tidied up before taking off; there was no sign of him anywhere.

"He's gone- I'm not looking forward to hearing the messages left on my phone…" She continued through into the bathroom, Jace still behind her, following her emotions on eggshells. This is where she stopped still.

The bathroom was the same as she had left it, just slightly more decayed: the rose, still glistening in blood sat dying by the sink; white porcelain all around was stained with rich crimson and, in the centre of all the chaos, a muddied brown piece of paper lay discarded on the ground, emitting the same eerie contempt as before.

Jace's eyes widened at the scene and he glanced at Clary, whose face showed that she obviously wasn't surprised by the mess.

"What the hell happened in here?" He asked, bending down to get the paper; Clary's arm shot out to stop him.

"Don't touch it." She said, grabbing it herself. So it wasn't a dream- the nightmare of a man had really been in her home, all the evidence was back.

"Clary, seriously, tell me what's going on, what the hell is with the rose? I can't help you if you don't help me." His voice was sharp and professional, his years of practiced curiosity kicking in as he watched her unfold the note and hand it to him; his eyes widened at the message, realisation curling around him- on the night Sebastian had nearly beaten her to death, she had found this in the bathroom. He would've jumped off of a roof as well.

"Pack a bag, gat any of the stuff you want and lets leave- there is no way we are coming back." He folded the note into his pocket, damaging evidence but uncaring as he and Clary exited the bathroom, Clary in a whirlwind of packing while he guarded the door to the apartment, keeping watch.

"I'm ready." Clary said softly as she came out of the bedroom. The one she had shared with Sebastian; the thought made Jace's fists clench over again- frustration was a constant feeling of his at the moment.

"Let's leave then."

/

Jace had been cold and impassive the entire journey to the coffee shop. Java Jones was a small place filled with leather chairs and warm baristas, but the atmosphere between Clary and him was cold, and she didn't know why. He sat rigid, elegant fingers wrapped around a mug of hot, black coffee, staring out of the café window as though the view of mundane street walkers enthralled him. Clary was the opposite to his cool, confident demeanour as she was almost curled in on herself, hiding her face with a curtain of hair, trying not to panic every time the door burst open.

She almost wanted to run and hide from the stony situation until Jace's emotionless voice filled the silence.

"He's gone."

Clary looked up, confused.

"Who's gone?"

"Sebastian. I got a call from Jordan this morning; he hasn't been into the office, he wasn't home earlier this morning, and his father has no idea where he is- we suspect he took off. I guess that's the only reason I was okay to take you there, but now that I know Valentine has been in such close contact, and Sebastian is gone, I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go anywhere high profile." The entire way through he continued to stare out of the window, and Clary studied his chiselled features, trying to find a trace of the warmer man she had come to know- she found none. The news that Sebastian was gone had struck her hard, fear clutching at her as she realised she wouldn't even be safe on the streets, but it was even scarier seeing the man that had saved her over and over closing in on himself- making her feel like the cops would sooner pull the plug on the case rather than going through the trial of finding two dangerous men.

"Okay then." Clary said softly, and rose from her chair. "I guess we should go then."

He finally looked up, and the rose to stand beside her, glancing over her quickly before heading out of the door, Clary trailing behind.

He pushed through the crowds of people, ignoring annoyed outbursts as he walked with purpose, finally making it to the car and jumping in, slamming his door as he did so. Clary nervously got into the other side, getting more annoyed at Jace and his stony silence.

"Have I done something wrong?" Asked Clary suddenly, startling Jace who's eyes had been glued to the road.

"What do you mean, why are you asking that" Jace replied, void of emotion still; Clary supressed a growl.

"You know what I mean. You've completely shut off from me; did I upset you, was the stuff at the apartment too weird?" She stared at him, trying to make him look, desperately wishing she knew what was happening.

He was silent as the road turned onto Izzy's block, pulling into a parking spot and unbuckling his belt.

"Look, nothing's wrong okay? I'll drop you off at Izzy's, but I probably won't see you for a while after- this is gonna keep me busy." He climbed from the car, Clary following, and they ascended the stairs to Isabelle's door. As they reached it, Jace knocked twice before turning to Clary.

"I'll be in touch." And with a final mandatory nod, he took off down the hall.

"Bye to you too!" Clary called down the hall, but it was too late- he was already gone and Isabelle was opening the door.

/

It had been three days since the incident with Jace and Clary was sat beside Izzy at her kitchen table, sketching out a knee length summer dress as Isabelle typed away on her laptop. The radio silence from the precinct had made her anxious, and Izzy had obviously noticed as her brown eyes kept flicking observantly at Clary.

"Relax Clary." She said, eyes fixed to the screen. Clary looked up.

"I am relaxed." She replied before continuing drawing.

"The table vibrating from you jumping your leg begs to differ; we'll hear from Jace and the guys soon, they are probably just wrapped up in the case- it's a good thing they haven't called, it means there's no bad news." Clary out her pencil down and dropped her head into her hands.

"It means no good news either, Izzy. The whole thing could turn out to be pointless- it's just a wild goose chase for Valentine and Sebastian; they both know how to get around the law."

"Jace, Alec and Jordan are the best of the best- I have faith in them and you should too. I know it's hard, but you need to not think about it- it'll just scare you more, okay?"

Clary nodded her head and continued her sketch, eyes blurring from the charcoal lines. It relaxed her though, and she found it easier to ignore the aching problems at hand: then there was a knock at the door.

The two girls looked up at each other, before Izzy rose and marched toward the door, Clary following. Izzy threw open the door, and Jordan, Alec and Jace all walked in.

"What are you guys doing here?" Isabelle asked, leading them all into the kitchen where her and Clary resumed their seats, Alec sitting beside Isabelle, Jordan perching himself on the counter top and Jace standing by the fridge. Jordan glanced around at his partners, confirming their permission, before speaking.

"We have a lead on Hugin- the hacker that helped release Valentine. Our boy, Lewis, managed to track down the feedback- that clever little nerd- and we've got an address."

Izzy and Clary looked at each other excitedly- leads on the case meant speeding up the search for Valentine, especially when the lead was the guy who helped him escape.

"That's great you guys, seriously, but what are you doing here- shouldn't you be busting down some doors?"

The guys looked at each other nervously, and Clary grew more curious. She stared at Jace, looking for answers, but he continued to avoid her gaze, so she looked to Alec.

"That's the thing." Said the raven haired boy. "We're on the protection squad right now."

This statement scared Clary, and she rose from her seat.

"What do you mean, protection squad? Who are you protecting?"

Alec looked straight into Clary's eyes.

"You two. We believe "Hugin" is Hodge Starkweather. He lives one floor above you."

Clary's heart stopped.

Why.

Why did this keep happening?

It followed her like a plague.

Danger.

What if Izzy was in danger because of her?

What if everyone in the building was in danger because of her?

He was a floor above.

So close.

So close.

/

Clary awoke in her bed to the sound of shouting. Rising a hand to her head and not remembering how she got there, she moved to put her head to the door to listen to the voices.

"You freaked her out!" A feminine voice screeched indignantly.

"We didn't mean to Iz, we thought it better that she knew." A male this time.

"Well you didn't have to be quite so ominous- she passed out she was so scared! She must've though he bugged the place."

"Nothing like that has happened Isabelle. We made sure. I'll tell her when she wakes up."

"No, no you won't. I will. You guys go catch baddies or whatever, but I don't want her near cops right now; it'll just scare her more than she already is." With that she heard a door shut and some shuffling. Clary leant back and sat on the bed, breathing heavily as she remembered the events of the afternoon- everything frightened her, and it was ridiculous.

"Quite the eavesdropper, are we?" A smooth voice from the corner said, and she twisted her body so hard in fear she felt like she had cracked a rib. She was about to let out a shriek when a hand covered her mouth and her eyes met warm golden ones- Jace.

"I'm sorry." He said, hand over her mouth still. "That wasn't very funny; I was just making sure you were okay whilst you slept." She shook him off and moved away, unafraid but annoyed.

"What do you want Jace?" She said harshly; he looked slightly hurt, but covered his expression.

"I was just making sure you were okay." He stated, analysing her. "Are you?" Clary looked at him, green eyes blazing.

"I'm fine- not that you care." She looked him in the eyes to examine his reaction, and he sighed before running a hand through his hair.

"I care more than you know." He replied. They stared at each other for what seemed like forever before Jace swept out of the room, shouting to Izzy then slamming a door.

Pulling herself from the pit of fear that was engulfing her she poked her head out of her room and into the kitchen to find Izzy. There she found the girl digging at chocolate ice cream with a spoon the size of her hand. Izzy glanced up.

"Y'okay?" She said, mouth full but not caring. Clary nodded, and Izzy raised her eyebrows before turning and grabbing an equally large spoon for Clary. "Join me?"

Clary grabbed the spoon.

Of course.


End file.
